Photo: Javier Sierra / Courtesy
By: Javier Sierra Updated 08 Sea 2022, 17: 40 pm EST
If this charging station was the first thing an alien saw upon arrival on our planet, he would say, “This is an intelligent species. It uses its star for its energy needs”.
The alien, however, would soon realize that the human being is still addicted to fuels dirty that destroy the atmosphere and kill millions of people around the world.
You only have to read the most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate (PICC) of the UN to confirm that the Earth is facing an unprecedented planetary emergency.
The message is clear: “The increase in climatic extremes has caused irreversible impacts, while natural and human systems are pressured beyond their capacity to adapt”.
These impacts include the worsening of floods on the planet’s coasts, devastating droughts and heat waves , infectious diseases, and food and water shortages. Those who will suffer the most from these consequences, he adds, will continue to be the communities and countries that have contributed the least to the climate crisis, like us Latinos in the United States and Latin America.
“The IPCC report is an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership”, concluded António Guterres, UN Secretary General, warning that “delay means death”.
Who causes it? Mainly, the dirty energy industry, which has known the terrible effects of its products on the biosphere for more than 40 years
A new study by PLOS ONE reveals that the four largest oil companies in the world —Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP and Shell— in the midst of a avalanche of profits, they systematically fail to fulfill their promises to reduce their emissions and invest in renewable energy.
Another report published by the Washington Post concludes that some of the most important corporations in the United States —such as Walmart, Amazon, AT&T and Citigroup— donate millions of dollars to politicians whose priority is to protect the interests of the dirty energy industry.
However, the IPCC report insists that we still have time to avoid its worst consequences, because the solutions are already available.
Renewable energy is the most b arata of the world In a decade, the cost of solar projects has dropped by almost 90%. Thanks to clean energy installed in 2020 alone, emerging economies will save nearly $90,000 millions.
Here in the United States, the Federal Congress has a generational opportunity to rush through a bold set of climate and social investments. There is already broad parliamentary and popular support for this crucial initiative that will address rising costs of living, reduce public health threats and create a livable future based on the growth of the clean energy economy.
This future it depends on whether our species deserves to be called Homo sapiens.
Javier Sierra is a columnist for the Sierra Club. Follow him on Twitter @javier_SC